Over the many years I have lived in Dallas, I have seen many great local acts come up, flower, and then depart our city for hopefully greener pastures.

Dallas is a unique animal. As many great things as Dallas/Fort Worth has, it has never seemed to be able to sustain some of the other things that other big US cities manage to sustain. Like the fact that DFW still doesn’t have an upscale gourmet vegan restaurant. STILL!!!! And we did finally build a convention center hotel, but we needed it back in 1984. And then there’s variety entertainers. Many wonderful artists, that have honed their act here in Texas, have been forced to leave, due to lack of work. It seems you can make your living as a magician or clown in these parts, but not so much if you are a ventriloquist, whip artist, hypnotist, or grand illusionist.

Now, some of these artists have made a go of it by doing more than one kind of act – like juggler/whip artist, or comedy magician/illusionist, or clown/ventriloquist. But if you want to do just ONE act, you eventually have to move where the work is – like cruise ships or Las Vegas.

And don’t even get me started on street performing! Busking opportunities are non-existent in this area. So, if you’ve developed a great street act, you better go looking for a street in NYC, or Los Angeles.

I’m not saying that Dallas isn’t a world class city. I’m just pointing out the fact that Dallas audiences have their own unique tastes. And though it’s a great city to live and grow in, if you want to make some coin, your act may eventually have to go on the road.